| Grenadiers (Prussia) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Belongs to | Prussia |
| Type | Grenadiers |
| Weapon(s) | Muskets and bombs |
| Ammunition | 15 |
| Soldiers in each unit | 60 |
| Melee Attack | 10 |
| Charge bonus | 15 |
| Defense skill | 16 |
| Morale | 9 |
| Range | 70 |
| Accuracy | 45 |
| Reloading | 45 |
| Tech requirement | None |
| Produced from | Drill School |
| Special abilities | Can hide in woodland; Can hide in light scrub; Resistant to morale shocks |
| Cost | 1030 |
| Upkeep | 250 |
Grenadiers are grenadier type troops in Empire: Total War.
Description[]
These invaluable soldiers are armed with muskets and hold carrying bags containing small bombs that can be hurled at the enemy's ranks.
Explosive grenades are one of the oldest types of gunpowder weapon, and one of the most dangerous to use. Grenades are a simple cast iron ball, with a fuse sticking out of the top. Fuses are notoriously unreliable, and grenadiers can die as their own bombs explode prematurely. Yet no matter how terrifying grenades are for the throwers, they are infinitely worse for the targets! Grenadiers see themselves as elite, and occupy the place of honor at the right of the line on parade. They have good reason: only large, brave men become grenadiers, because it takes a big man to throw one properly. Even their uniform makes them look bigger thanks to the pointed grenadier’s cap; a tricorne gets in the way of a good throw.
Historically, grenadier regiments and battalions began as ad-hoc assault forces. All line infantry regiments had grenadier companies; collecting these sub-units gave commanders a useful group of heavily armed, aggressive and skilful soldiers. Grenadier companies remained in line infantry regiments after the creation of grenadier regiments, but they abandoned grenades. Instead, each grenadier company became a “heavy mob” of the biggest and strongest soldiers in a regiment.
General Information[]
Prussian Grenadiers are similar (but superior to) regular Grenadiers. They possess greatly superior reloading skill, a slightly better charge bonus, and slightly more morale than their standard counterparts. Ironically, they are cheaper to train and maintain than their inferior counterparts.
As a whole, grenadiers are a specialized support troop. Like Line Infantry, grenadiers are armed with muskets. They have half the manpower of a Line Infantry regiment, and so should not be used to simply substitute line infantry; however, they have superior melee statistics than line infantry and great to use in breaking up enemy lines. The grenadiers' signature ability, however, is their ability to throw grenades: short ranged, powerful explosives that have a dramatic effect on enemy morale. Grenades may sometimes be tricky to use, but they can be a great factor in winning line infantry engagements.